The Punishment of Luke
by Cinnamon Smiles
Summary: When the world is fragile, and no one remembers Luke is haunted by the past they've all forgotten. It's his burden to bear their memories. His punishment. Rated T, Lukalia and Percabeth.
1. Chapter 1

**They don't remember, but he does. And it haunts him every moment. The Punishment of Luke.**

_Okie do. I had this idea randomly. Actually, I was drinking some hot cocoa and burned my tongue. This caused me to think about what punishments the gods might give Luke if he survived, I know, my thoughts are pretty unconnected. Then I thought about rather then physical pain, about mental toture (evil I know) and came up with this: The god remove the other half bloods' memories as a gift- so they don't have to relive old battles. They give Luke a chance to be forgiven, but he had to live with the guilt. So, I give you these questions to ponder: Does he crack under the pressure? If he does, do they believe him? Accept him? Will she still love him?_

_Luke must really hate me for this._

_Oh well._

_Oh, drinking, language and romance. Rated T. Pairings: Percabeth, Lukalia, mentions of Beckalina and Charisse._

A New Year and Much To Think About

Luke stroked her face gently and she smiled up at him. He smiled back slowly, glad to at least have a chance to be with her. A new year was about to begin and he wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone but her. The party's atmosphere was that of a cocktail party, but there was more socializing, multicolored lights and better music. That and Nico was completely sloshed. _(1) _Percy and Annabeth twirled around the dance floor, looking as happy as he had ever seen them. Silena and Beckendorf also danced slowly, Travis and Conner Stoll spiking the punch with more vodka as Pollux Cramer took a big gulp. Chris and Clarisse arguing over which song to play next, and other halfbloods enjoying themselves. They were all waiting for the ball to drop, waiting for a chance to start on their resolutions. A perfect night. And all a lie. If anyone else had been watching, it would have been Nick Angels flirting with a cactus after too much alcohol consumption. Beth Follow dancing with Peter Johnson, while Sirena Beaumont and Charlie Beck did the same close by. Trey and Colin Took dumping in unneeded vodka into the already drunk- level booze and Paul Carson drinking more then allowed. Ken and Clara disagreeing about the music, and other people dancing about, waiting for the ball to drop, waiting for a chance to... bullshit. He tried to push those thoughts away and focus on the fact that he was free, and at least ninety percent happy. He had her didn't he? He wasn't in danger anymore wasn't he? His punishment could be worse, couldn't it? But the they refused to leave. _How can you do this to her Luke? She doesn't know what you've done. How could you be so selfish? Sally Jackson mourns her lost son, and there he is. Are you really that much of a coward? Are you really that afraid? _He gritted his teeth, annoyed with himself for ruining the evening. He looked down at his fiancee and whispered her name. She turned to him and looked at him with a black eyebrow raised.

"Are you drunk?" she said, slightly slurred, and he knew she was. He cursed himself for the slip and replied gently,

"Not as drunk as you are, love." she smiled and placed a clumsy kiss on his cheek. He sighed and led her to the dance floor, determined to at least enjoy the last few minutes of the old year. And he did. She always managed to make him forget the bad things. As he swirled her around he sent a silent prayer to her father, thanking him for his permission to love her. Not that it would make a difference if he didn't, but it certainly made life easier. She stumbled a bit but he righted her, his arms around her which made him happy. Thalia Peterson, he decided, was the most beautiful girl in the world, even when she was sad, angry or too drunk to function. When at last someone screamed 'it's the count down!' he smiled down at her. The crowd cheered and as one began to count.

_"10...9...8...7...6...5..4..3..2....1!" _

He grinned at her and twirled her around, grabbing her waist and pulling her to him. The kiss was long as slow and made his heart sigh. Maybe that was a bit poetic, but he didn't really care. All he knew was that this year, he would marry her. They broke away, still in their embrace. As the eyes met she spoke the words that made his heart break:

"I love you, Lucien." Lucien. Lucien. _Lucien. _She is Lucien's, not Luke's. And though they may be the same, to him there was a world of difference. He forced himself to reply:

"I love you too, Tanya." Mentally, he replaced the pseudonym for the real thing. But it wasn't the same. Another year had passed with his secret safe. But secrets were dangerous business.

**Um... yeah. REALLY short. This is just the prolouge of sorts... hope you guys liked! Oh, I also hope you understand it, if you have any questions, please ask me.** **And the over smooshiness? Contrasts with the rest of the story, don't worry.**

**(1) Sloshed is a word for drunk right?**


	2. Chapter 2

**They don't remember, but he does. And it haunts him every moment. The Punishment of Luke.**

_In this chapter, you learn more about Luke's life so far... and what has happened in the past. Plus his visit to Olympus._

**_And thanks a bunch to Raechelle Marie, who beta'd thins for me! I never realized I had such problems with paragraphing... haha!_**

The Rise of Atlas.

Luke woke up on January second with a headache. He had consumed minimal amounts of alcohol last night compared to the others, but he had a feeling it wasn't just a hangover. It was guilt-influenced as well. He groaned and sat up in bed, his sandy blond hair suffering from dismal bed head. He sighed and smoothed it down.

Luke looked around. Thalia was gone, probably getting some cereal for breakfast (neither of them could cook.) He glanced at the clock and corrected himself. Lunch, it was already 12:34. He muttered something under his breath about how he hated time and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He was wearing the same clothes he had worn to the party, as they had both been slightly drunk and very tired when they got back to their apartment. Thank the gods for public transportation.

Luke dragged himself into the bathroom; changing into fresh clothes and completing his normal morning routine. Surrounded by blue tile, he looked in the mirror. He knew he was Luke, whatever name he went by, with his same blond hair and blue eyes. The old scar still marred his face, but he didn't mind it. It was only physical and he had worse scars than that inside. The large bags beneath his eyes showed off his lack of sleep and for a horrifying moment the blue flashed gold. He tumbled backwards with a cry, nearly hitting his head on the bathtub. Luke got back on his feet immediately and inspected himself in the mirror. The unholy eyes were gone, replaced with his normal blue. He let out a sigh of relief. Thalia knocked on the door.

"Lucien, are you okay? I heard someone shout," she called. He winced.

"Yeah, fine. Just a spider," he yelled back. There was a movement on the other side of the door and it opened, revealing his fiancée. She gave him a doubtful look.

"You're not afraid of spiders," she said. He winced again, and not out of pain.

"Just startled me," he lied. She was probably still unconvinced but didn't say anything. He left the bathroom and ushered her down the hall to the kitchen, "Let's just celebrate the New Year."

She groaned, "I've done too much celebrating."

Luke smiled. He sat down at the table, picking up that morning's mail. Bills, bills, a letter from Olympus, more bills, a magazine... Wait, letter from Olympus? He looked back. Addressed to Luke Castellan, from Lord Zeus, Mount Olympus.

"Odd," Thalia said, "Must be misaddressed." But Luke didn't listen, he tore open the letter and read it.

_Mr. Castellan- If you intend on marrying my daughter as Aphrodite insists, I'd just like to say these few things. If you hurt her, I will personally smite you and see to it that Hades has you wandering Wal-Mart for eternity. Wait, maybe that's not bad enough. Make it McDonald's. Yes, you will have to work as a MacDonald's employee forever if anything bad happens to her. Actually, I think I'll let Hades do his worst. He's more imaginative then me. Whatever, I've never been one with words, but I think you get the point._

_Thalia is my first daughter in sixty years and whatever she might think, I do care for her, even if she doesn't remember me. It's also true that I don't like you. I think you know that. I also think you know the only gods who tolerate you are your father and Aphrodite, and only then because of kin and love. No, I'm sure you know Aphrodite doesn't love you herself. She just likes your love life. Trust me, she's weird like that. Okay, now she's going to kill me. Don't let her read this letter. Anyway, protect Thalia with your life, because hers is worth ten of yours. Nothing personal._

_Zeus_

_PS. If you do marry her, that does NOT give you permission to call me 'Dad'_

Luke smiled. The letter was threatening in nature, but it was nice to know they cared. If not about him, then about the others. Thalia was trying to read over his shoulder, but he folded it up and put it in his shirt pocket.

"What was that?" she asked, cocking her head curiously. He just shrugged and muttered 'nothing' under his breath. For the second time that morning she gave him the suspicious look. She reached over and felt his forehead.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked. "You've been acting jumpy." He shook away the comment. It was best she thought he had a bit of a cold.

"I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed by the new year.," he said, hating to give her excuses, but as long as he was going to go by the name Lucien Casper he needed her to know nothing; to just be Tanya Patterson, without worrying about Thalia Peterson.

He gave her a guilty look, wishing he could tell her how she wasn't just the daughter of some rich executive of a electric company, but that her father was Zeus, lord of the sky. That she hadn't gone to NYU at all, that she had only a 7th grade education but she was he best fighter he had ever met. That she wasn't Tanya Patterson, and he wasn't Lucien Casper. That they were Thalia Peterson and Luke Castellan, but he was afraid. Afraid of what she would say if she knew what he had done. And so the next words out of his mouth were:

"I should go to work." he said.

-------------

He worked at King's Gym at the front desk. He hated the job, but it paid the rent. After his boss had chewed him out for being late, he had to greet the various regulars at the gym, aka the forty-year-old men who still lived at home and did little but press the buttons on the TV remote until they realized the pounds weren't going to magically disappear, the low-esteemed mothers who had about five kids and hadn't noticed the stress eating catching up with them, and the scrawny teenage guys wanting to bulk up for sports (or girls) next football season. After he bid farewell to Mrs. Harrison ,who had just completed her Pilates and had to go pick up her son Max from soccer, he checked his phone messages. One missed call, it said. He typed in his pass code and raised the cell to his ear.

"One missed call from 1-631-104-1224." He smiled. Thalia had called him at work all the time. Even if it was a simple 'I love you' it always made him happy for the rest of the day. But the tone of her voice made him immediately wary.

"Lucien? Lucien please pick up. There's a man here. He's got a gun...I think. I can't really look at it straight for some reason. He keeps talking about 'Kronos' and he say that Adam, Raphael, and Maia are in danger, and that there's a traitor on Olympus. Who are they? What's Olympus? I have to go now. Lucien, come and help me. Oh god..." and the phone clicked off.

He took a few breaths before he could think rationally. Not only did this have Thalia then, he was going to try to take the kids he had had to leave behind. The children he hadn't seen for years. His twins and little girl. The two boys had only been two when the gods took away the other half bloods' memories. Thalia couldn't even remember the children they had had. And now thanks to this man, she would have to find out the hard way.

He was already out the door when his mind caught up to his feet. He sprinted down the road, not bothering with taxis. His father was the messenger god for Olympus' sake. He was fast enough to get home to see the neighbor Mrs. Clinton calling the police and the door hanging off the hinges. His heart sank as the old widow came up to him.

"Oh, dear!" she cried hysterically, "Don't go in there Mr. Casper, blood everywhere! Didn't do my old heart a bit of good!" Luke pushed past her and stood in the doorway. There was blood, and lots of it. There were signs of a struggle and a note written on the table. He snatched it up and read out loud, not caring who heard or how hard it was to form the words in his head. Stupid dyslexia.

_"Luke Castellan. I have your pathetic lover and I will soon have your god- spoiled brats. But if you play your cards right, they'll be fine. You know it's you we want, not them. Atlas."_ He clenched his fists. He had forgotten Kronos' brother. He whirled around, crunching the paper into his pocket, and ran out the door again.

Luke hailed down a taxi this time and tipped the cab driver to speed if he had to. Fifty bucks ought to do it. He did notice the street signs flash by but it wasn't fast enough for him. The ADHD kicked in and he impatiently tapped his feet. The yellow car parked in front of the Empire State building. He paid and jogged into the lobby.

Luke pushed past the other patrons, not caring what they thought. The man at the desk looked bored, but he recognized the features. This was a son of Dionysus, think curly black hair set atop a round face, and the purple eyes flicked over a magazine. He looked up at Luke, the name tag proclaiming 'ETANO' which was probably Aeton.

"Olympus. Now." he growled. The other man hesitated.

"Look buddy, I can't just give that out to anyone. State your name and business and I'll see what I can do." he said nervously. Luke wanted to put his hands around his wobbling double chin and squeeze until this guy was paying Charon. Let's hope he has a coin on him, Luke thought viciously. He knew that this demigod knew who his was, this Aeton. Everyone knew about that scar...

"You know damn well who I am. And my business is none of yours. Now give me the passkey or I'll skewer you on Backbiter," he snarled, holding out his hand. The intimidated half-blood dropped the card in the outstretched appendage. Luke grasped it and nodded to Aeton, "Wise choice." The guy just whimpered.

As he was waiting for the elevator to come down, he noticed a small child smile at him, one he was all to familiar with, the long red hair and dark eyes. It was Dike, goddess of justice. But she was gone as soon as she came, just a reminder of that last time he had been before the gods. His trial specifically.

The elevator dinged and he got on. He was alone and was glad for that, but the gods had a really bad taste in their elevator music. Luke slipped the card in and pressed the button that appeared.

When was finally up on the top floor, he tried to push away the thoughts of what may have happened in that relatively short time. Lots. He ran the bridge, not even noticing the horrifying height. He got to the throne room with only a few curious glances. But two tall, muscular minor gods blocked the door. They had their arms crossed over their broad chests and each had a horrible smile. The short brown hair was shorn similar to their father's style. Luke groaned on the inside but he said coolly:

"Deimos, Phobos. I would love to stop and chat, but now is not the time" he said and the brothers laughed.

"Luke Castellan. Long time no see. It's true, we could stay and torture you all day, but Grandpa Zeus is in a mood." Phobos said, and his big eerie grin widened.

"Yes, he is. Hope you don't have any bad news. Just might smite you off the mountain," Deimos said and chuckled. These two had a whacked up sense of humor, he thought, fitting for fear and panic.

"Well, the news isn't good. But I'm sure I won't be disintegrated... yet. So if you'd just let me by, I'd appreciate it," he said almost pleadingly. Deimos shrugged and nodded.

"Go ahead, but we'll see you again some day, Castellan. Remember that," and as if they had planned it, they disappeared in a flash of light. Luke shook his head and pushed the large throne room door open. Sure enough, Zeus looked annoyed, but Hera was tapping her fingers, as if waiting for an explanation. The great thunder god blanched a little at his wife's expression and looked up guiltily.

"I'm sorry?" he tried. Hera didn't move. "I love you?" he attempted. Still nothing. "Come on Hera, you think you'd have gotten used to it!" he said, accidentally zapping the chair next to him. Luke cleared his throat. The king and queen of heaven looked up and Lord Zeus had his master bolt out in seconds. Hera placed her hand on his arm and lowered the weapon.

"Luke Castellan." she said, smiling sweetly. She pulled her husband forward so they were in front of him. Zeus looked frazzled, his normally neat suit slightly rumpled. Hera was wearing a gold and purple robe, her brown hair floating down her back, "What are you doing here?" she asked. Now was his chance.

"Atlas has Thalia. I need to see that my children are safe," he said. Zeus' eyes turned stormy and the air crackled, suddenly thick with the scent of ozone. Hera's brow furrowed, clearly upset.

"He has my daughter? How did he get out from under the sky?" Zeus roared. "Damn it! Ganymede, fetch the children." The cup bearer nodded and ran off.

"Here," Luke said, thrusting the note into his grandfather's hand. Zeus read it, and his black eyebrows came together in a frown.

"Traitors on Olympus? They have sworn to me those deceitful traitors! Whoever they are, I will have them locked away for eternity. I swear on the River Styx." he boomed.

Luke nodded. He knew that even the demigods had to protect the gods with an oath to prevent anyone from following in the footsteps of, well, him. The god looked furious and his wife looked concerned. Then the cup bearer, the boy so beautiful it hurt to look at him, Ganymede came back with three children in tow. Luke looked on, not sure what to say. His children, he knew, were blessed by various gods, but he wasn't expecting this. They... glowed almost. They looked mature, as if when they spoke it would be more eloquent then he could ever hope to sound himself. Adam proved it.

"Master Zeus, who is this?" six-year-old Adam Lysander asked. Luke just stood, silently wishing he could just rush forward and hug the children who thought him a stranger.

Adam was the eldest, with black hair and blue eyes like his mother. He was four minutes older then his twin. Blessed by Zeus, Ares, and Athena the little boy would one day be unbeatable in combat.

Raphael Leander was younger and he had Luke's sandy blond hair and his mother's eyes. Blessed by Hermes, Hephaestus, and Poseidon the boy would be a jack of all trades, especially artistic and a lover of sea creatures.

Maia Alekto smiled at him, her eyes so like his it scared him. The hair though, was long, silky, and very dark. Blessed by the twin archers, Apollo and Artemis, she would be a great archer, beautiful and knowing. He tried not to blame the gods that his children were not children. They were, for lack of a better word, pawns. But then again, every demigod was. Zeus shifted uncomfortably.

"This is your father." he said gently. Adam's eyebrows raised, Raph snorted, as if he didn't believe it, and Maia's smile widened. He felt something cold wrap around his heart. What a great father you are, he thought with sarcasm.

"Hello." Luke said awkwardly. The twins held back, but his daughter rushed to him. He picked her up and looked at her face. She giggled when she saw his eyes that matching hers.

"You are my daddy!" she squealed happily. The two boys exchanged a look and they ran forward too. Obviously, they trusted their sister's judgment. Hera smiled at the family, because she could never resist family moments. But then Raph asked a hard question to answer.

"Where's our mother?" he asked, cocking his small blond head.

**_So, there you are... it will get less confusing as it progresses..._**


End file.
